Well, I believe it was a fine Christmas at our house. As I type this at about 10:30 PM, Christmas night, the girls are all in bed snuggling with one new item or another. As I take my last listen to my favorite Christmas songs, I’ll share a few details of our holiday. Christmas Eve was a blur of trips to the grocery store, food prep, and last-minute cleaning and straightening jobs around the house before we had to get ready for 5:00 pm Mass.
Happy Christmas Eve, eve! It feels like I should say, “Man, the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas has really flown this year,” since I think I say that each year. But it’s especially true in these years when we’re on the short side of the holiday cycle. In those years where there are nearly five weeks between the holidays, I usually have a few days right before the Winter Solstice when I’m a little burned out on the whole holiday spirit thing.
“Red Eyes” - The War on Drugs youtu.be/aV4m04CyT… It’s hard to write about a song that you love so much, but can barely sing along to. Adam Granduciel hides many of his lyrics deep beneath layers of guitars, synthesizers, distortion, and plain old mumbling. For much of the song, I’m just kind of humming along, guessing at words here and there, playing a little air guitar or drums, and making up words that seem to fit.
youtu.be/RfurmGiKZ… “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” - Darlene Love Most holiday seasons there is one Christmas song I listen to a little more than the others, or one that connects with me a little more than the rest. Some years it is a relatively new song that gets stuck in my head. Other years it is a song I’ve heard hundreds of times that suddenly tickles the right part of my brain.
“Transgender Dysphoria Blues” - Against Me! youtu.be/TFgFGgjNQ… No song was a more forceful statement of self than this, the opening track of the first Against Me! album since lead singer Laura Jane Grace began her transformation from man to woman. It is packed with a righteous rage, the entire album a gigantic middle finger to everyone that questions the manner in which Grace leads her life. And yet, it also rings with an optimism and a profound sense of liberation.
“Gimme Something Good” - Ryan Adams youtu.be/vmglUwgtH… This was the soundtrack of my summer, something I heard every 90 minutes or so while we were lounging in the water at the lake. Which made perfect sense, because it has a timeless sound that would have let it fit perfectly into playlists from about any summer of the last 40 years. A song made for singing along to while riding in cars packed with friends, while chilling at the pool, or while grilling your dinner on warm nights.
Back again to fill in a couple hot sports takes between favorite songs entries. Bill Self Issues a Fatwa Against Mock Drafts Last Saturday KU coach Bill Self, after responding to a question about how well Kelly Oubre had played against Utah, railed against the numerous mock NBA drafts that dot the Internet. He said they hurt more people than they help by building unrealistic expectations for young college players.
“Lights Out” - Angel Olsen youtu.be/MPUJpT0yM… I’ll write more about my favorite albums of the year next week, but this comes from one of my absolute favorites. And it stands out on a disk full of fine songs. Most of Burn Your Fire For No Witness is focused on pain and loneliness and longing to heal. While this song certainly matches the tone of its album-mates, the lyrics set it apart.
“Run Forever” Emma Ruth Rundle youtu.be/5aJbeLbsO… I’m a sucker for a song like this. It is equal parts beautiful and haunting. It is as unsettling as it is comforting. Is it a plea or a warning? There’s a delicious tension to the music and vocals that prevents these differences from ever resolving. Come on my love take cover with me We can be gone and there’s no one we need Previously: 20 - “Black And White” - Parquet Courts 19 - “I Got Knocked Down (But I’ll Get Up)” - School Of Seven Bells 18 - “We Only Come Out At Night” - Sugar Stems 17 - “Too True To Be Good” - Dum Dum Girls 16 - “Milwaukee” - The Both 15 - “New Skin” - Torres 14 - “Seasons (Waiting On You)” - Future Islands 13 - “Fall In Love” - Phantogram 12 - “Spinners” - The Hold Steady 11 - “Rent I Pay” - Spoon 10 - “Teenage Wasteland” - Wussy 9 - “Goshen ’97” - Strand Of Oaks 8 - “Lazaretto” - Jack White 7 - “Honey Do” - Beverly 6 - “Head Underwater” - Jenny Lewis
“Head Underwater” - Jenny Lewis youtu.be/2uODoYrQQ… You can’t write about Jenny Lewis without throwing out the obligatory mention of how her music sounds straight out of the 1970s. Her songs would have fit in nicely with all the stuff we heard from the backseat of our parents cars.[1] Sun-drenched, breath-taking, AM-radio pop that owes a huge debt to Fleetwood Mac. The beautiful sounds Lewis fills her songs with have always masked deeply honest, often painful, and occasionally dark lyrics.
“Honey Do” - Beverly youtu.be/zAG0EhVPU… Sometimes the simplest songs have the biggest impact. Twenty words. Chugging guitars and pounding drums. Gorgeous harmonies. Combined, it turns into sheer beauty. Tell me your oldest memory Yes I will keep it Oh honey do Previously: 20 - “Black And White” - Parquet Courts 19 - “I Got Knocked Down (But I’ll Get Up)” - School Of Seven Bells 18 - “We Only Come Out At Night” - Sugar Stems 17 - “Too True To Be Good” - Dum Dum Girls 16 - “Milwaukee” - The Both 15 - “New Skin” - Torres 14 - “Seasons (Waiting On You)” - Future Islands 13 - “Fall In Love” - Phantogram 12 - “Spinners” - The Hold Steady 11 - “Rent I Pay” - Spoon 10 - “Teenage Wasteland” - Wussy 9 - “Goshen ’97” - Strand Of Oaks 8 - “Lazaretto” - Jack White
Nine days out, the holiday tension is getting thick at our house. Shortly after our tree went up, the girls began making presents for each other and putting them under the tree. They were mostly paintings and drawings, but everything was placed into a gift bag or wrapped in a box so they looked like any other gift. They decided last week that waiting until Christmas to open them was dumb, so they tore them all open.
“Lazaretto” - Jack White youtu.be/qI-95cTMe… White’s Lazaretto was perhaps the most disappointing album of the year. He seemed disinterested and unfocused. Thankfully, he was locked in on a few tracks, notably this absolute beast of a song that stands with the best things he’s ever done. When I say nothing, I say everything Previously: 20 - “Black And White” - Parquet Courts 19 - “I Got Knocked Down (But I’ll Get Up)” - School Of Seven Bells 18 - “We Only Come Out At Night” - Sugar Stems 17 - “Too True To Be Good” - Dum Dum Girls 16 - “Milwaukee” - The Both 15 - “New Skin” - Torres 14 - “Seasons (Waiting On You)” - Future Islands 13 - “Fall In Love” - Phantogram 12 - “Spinners” - The Hold Steady 11 - “Rent I Pay” - Spoon 10 - “Teenage Wasteland” - Wussy 9 - “Goshen ’97” - Strand Of Oaks
“Goshen ’97” - Strand Of Oaks youtu.be/Ef7ZYeKVs… We’re getting closer to the music that defined my year, much of which harkened back to the music of my youth. While this song looks back to the ‘90s rather than ‘80s, I certainly appreciate the intent. Indiana native Timothy Showalter put together an amazing album, much of it focused on he and his wife’s failures in their marriage. But he kicked it off with this roaring track, which features some heroic guitar work by J.
Week #2 of the countdown means we’re on to the Top 10… “Teenage Wasteland” - Wussy youtu.be/8xsgu7mSI… Songs about falling in love with music will always be made. But are we at the end of the age of songs like this? Songs about living in rural America and having your life changed by amazing music that rolls in on the radio waves from distant cities? “Kids these days, with their Interwebs and their file sharing…”
“Rent I Pay” - Spoon youtu.be/NOPfmfRVW… I’ll entertain arguments that all Spoon songs kind of sound the same. But the thing is, they’re almost always really freaking good. It’s good to hear them recapture their old swagger after a couple albums with slightly different sounds. And if that’s your answer no I ain’t your dancer Previously: 20 - “Black And White” - Parquet Courts 19 - “I Got Knocked Down (But I’ll Get Up)” - School Of Seven Bells 18 - “We Only Come Out At Night” - Sugar Stems 17 - “Too True To Be Good” - Dum Dum Girls 16 - “Milwaukee” - The Both 15 - “New Skin” - Torres 14 - “Seasons (Waiting On You)” - Future Islands 13 - “Fall In Love” - Phantogram 12 - “Spinners” - The Hold Steady
youtu.be/RpmnMd8CU… “Christmas Medley” - Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra What happens when a couple of P-I-M-P-S get together over the holidays? Magic, that’s what happens.
“Spinners” - The Hold Steady youtu.be/3QHMsP4Dk… The Hold Steady will never again be as good as during their three-album run from 2005–2008. But they still write great songs, like this ode to getting out and trying to put heartbreak behind you. Or, put the ball in play, as some of us used to say. The nights go on forever now But the morning comes up quick. Previously: 20 - “Black And White” - Parquet Courts 19 - “I Got Knocked Down (But I’ll Get Up)” - School Of Seven Bells 18 - “We Only Come Out At Night” - Sugar Stems 17 - “Too True To Be Good” - Dum Dum Girls 16 - “Milwaukee” - The Both 15 - “New Skin” - Torres 14 - “Seasons (Waiting On You)” - Future Islands 13 - “Fall In Love” - Phantogram
“Fall In Love” - Phantogram youtu.be/Aq_9-UpaJ… Phantogram describes their music as “darkadelic,” which strikes me as perfect. Electro-rock with heavy psychedlic influences, their sound is dark and dense. Throw on lyrics that speak about the hopeless side of love, and their songs aren’t terribly uplifting. But damn do they sound great. Bonus points: If I had to have a crush on someone in this year’s countdown, it would be lead singer Sarah Barthel.
So one morning last week I’m on my way home after dropping the girls off at St. P’s. I’m flipping through my stored channels on SirriusXM and not having much luck finding something to listen to. Until I hit channel 8, the 80s station. There, I hear that familiar church organ dirge, followed by some of the most recognizable first words of a song/album in rock history, Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to get through this thing called life… My hand shot to the volume knob and cranked it up.